Piotr Lemańczyk - Naha People (2009)

Too few people in Poland noticed and appreciated this album as it deserved. In my opinion however this was not only one of the best jazz recordings last year but also one of the most intriguing over last couple of years. Moreover I honestly cannot recall anyone in Poland playing on trumpet (Tomasz Stańko apart of course) on a level Tim Hagans is playing on this CD. Speaking shortly this is item that every jazz lover shall definitely inspect more carefully and listen many times over.

Certainly mainstream jazz but it has all charm of modern jazz as it is forward thinking, complex and infinitely refined. All musicians involved in this project play simply masterfully. Tim Hagans who is one of the best trumpet players on this planet shows that his artistic potential is simply limitless. His trumpet weavers and meanders as butterfly on a spring meadow in full blossom. Piotr Lemańczyk bass is rock solid and deep as some far away storm on the edge of dream and reality. He is assisted by fantastic young vibraphonist Dominik Bukowski whose strokes are as light as first raindrops on freshly opened flowers in the morning. Nor worse is veteran drummer Kazimierz Jonkisz whose intricate play reminds me of sun beams hide-and-seek game with shadows in some old and mysterious forest. On tunes 1,6,7 excellent saxophonist Maciej Sikała appears his presence subtle and unobtrusive as moon waning in morning light. Finally, I would like to notice very high level of recording and mastering of the sound for which Michał Mielnik and Tomek Cybula were responsible.

All compositions are by Piotr Lemańczyk and are very good but if I was to find some fault in this magnificent project I would say that tempos of tunes might be a bit more diversified. But apart from this minor objection I find this album very rewarding and cannot but listen to it over and over again. Fantastic music! 

To learn more about the leader please visit: http://www.piotrlemanczyk.com/. To hear some music from this album: http://www.myspace.com/lemanczykpiotr.

By Maciej Nowotny

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